Tyler Da Ponte “Broken Silence”

BROKEN SILENCE ____________________________________________________________ by Tyler Da Ponte, Grade 10

The town remained eerily silent as the two walked at a leisurely pace, confident that the enemy wouldn’t want to enter this seemingly empty space. Not even the wind was present. The only sound that they could hear was their muffled footsteps in the sand that lay between the dusty streets, their occasional huffed breaths, and the slight creaking of weary buildings barely standing. The gear they carried was heavy and walking was beginning to become difficult, even at the slow pace they’d set.

“Hey, let’s sit for a minute,” said Jones between laboured breaths, clearly in need of a rest.

“Is this already too much for you?” Adam replied in his typical, snarky demeanor.

“Come on man, just a few minutes, then we can keep going.”

“…fine.”

They came to a bench that stood in front of what appeared to be a small church. Putting their weapons down, they sat for a few moments in silence. Without their footsteps, the town once again fell into a state of complete stillness, uninterrupted by any inside or outside force. Finally, a voice broke the silence.

“Hey, uh, do you—” asked Jones, sheepishly.

“What is it? Spit it out.”

“Do you... think there’s a God?”

Adam looked almost shocked, confused that Jones would ask.

“Why the hell would you ask me such a heavy-handed question?” Adam retorted, clearly uncomfortable.

“Well, you know, where we are—it’s like it’s some sacred ground. The centre of this town is a massive church or mosque or something. Where we’re sitting right now is in front of another one. Seems like these people are–were–pretty religious.”

“I… don’t really know how to answer that. You should know better than anyone that I’m not exactly that much of a believer.”

“I’m not asking for your theory on the meaning of life, I’m asking for your personal beliefs.”

Adam took a moment to think on the surrounding area. On the situations that had led to this scenario.

“I’m not really one to slam other people’s beliefs, as long as they aren’t hurting anyone… Here’s what I think. These people based their whole lives around religion, right? They prayed every morning and night. They said grace or something before eating. But in the end, when the time came, did God come to save them? No. They stayed in their homes and prayed, to no avail. So what I think is that either God doesn’t care about his subjects, or he doesn’t exist at all.”

“But maybe they were praying to the wrong... God?” asked Jones, trying to wrap his head around Adam’s logic.

“That’s another thing that annoys me about religion. Why the hell are there so many variants? What’s more, each branch claims the other is wrong, that God only offers salvation to their variant. Doesn’t God supposedly love everyone?”

“I mean, I see your point. But what purpose do we have if there isn’t any… higher being,

BROKEN SILENCE ____________________________________________________________ by Tyler Da Ponte, Grade 10

pulling the strings?”

“Honestly, I don’t know. All I know is that if God really loved everyone, this conflict our country is in right now? It wouldn’t be happening. All those people in this town that were bombed to hell? They’d still be praying daily, given the greatest fortune of all for their belief. That’s why I can’t believe in God. We’re here because of science, biological evolution, and a cosmic amount of luck. All the corruption in this world is probably the greatest indication of the absence of God.”

“I… let’s get back to moving.”

“Sure thing.”

The two got up from their seated positions and retrieved their gear. As they set off, the sounds of their muffled footsteps once again echoed through the empty streets, and an awkward silence filled the air where lively conversation had once rested.

artwork by Sasha Au Yong, Grade 12